Two years ago, wildlife photographer Nick Volpe was hiking through the lush forests of Wellington, New Zealand, when something caught his eye — something green, bumpy, and unmistakably … pickle-shaped.
At first, Volpe thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. But as the small creature inched across the forest floor, he realized he wasn’t imagining things at all — he’d just stumbled upon a real-life “moving pickle.”
As a seasoned wildlife photographer, Volpe immediately recognized the animal as a leaf vein slug, a subspecies affectionately nicknamed the New Zealand pickle slug. Though he’d read about them before, he’d never actually seen one in person — they’re nocturnal and rarely spotted during the day.
“To say I was excited to meet this creature … was an understatement,” Volpe shared on X (formerly Twitter).
When he carefully picked up the little slug, its resemblance to a pickle became even more uncanny. Its skin was the same vibrant green as a freshly brined cucumber, and its back was covered in tiny spikes that looked just like pickle bumps.
“He’s just essentially a moving pickle,” Volpe joked on Instagram.
Pickle slugs are air-breathing gastropods found only in New Zealand. Because of how elusive they are, scientists still don’t know much about them — but it’s believed they feed on algae and fungi during their nighttime wanderings.
Their odd, pickle-like look isn’t just for show. The green hue helps them camouflage against mossy logs and leaves, while the bumps — known as papillae — can even expand or change shape to help them blend in.
“Those pickle-like protrusions on its back are actually papillae, a feature of several slugs that in some species can even inflate and enlarge to alter their appearance,” explained IFL Science.
And if that weren’t adorable enough, even their eggs look like tiny pearl onions — making the “pickle slug” name hilariously appropriate.
“Not sure if I’ve ever seen a more fitting name for a creature before,” one commenter wrote under Volpe’s post.
Volpe hasn’t seen another pickle slug since that unforgettable day, but the encounter left a lasting impression.
“I am in love with this thing,” he said.
